Shooting in Hawaii has S. Africans demanding justice

JOHANNESBURG — A plane from Honolulu landed in Johannesburg earlier this month and offloaded a coffin carrying the body of Lindani Myeni, a South African man.

His widow, Lindsay Myeni, a white American, cradled their 6-month-old daughter and kept watch over their 2-year-old son.

Myeni, 29, died in Honolulu after he was shot by police outside a suburban house he had inexplicably entered and then left on the night of April 14. Unarmed, he had left his shoes in his car.

In the United States, this police shooting of a Black man they described as a burglary suspect did not make national news. But in South Africa, it has become a cause célèbre, intensifying both criticism of racism in the United States and a feeling of solidarity with African Americans.

Media outlets in South Africa broadcast Myeni’s funeral and replayed the harrowing 911 call that captured his death. It begins with a terrified woman reporting an intruder and police officers arriving at the house. It ends with the sound of gunshots.

The Myenis arrived in Honolulu in February 2020.

On the day he died, Myeni went for a drive. At 8:09 that evening, the Honolulu Police Department received a frantic call. In the 9-minute, 47-second call, the female caller sounds increasingly distraught. The police arrived after five minutes, by which point Myeni appears to have left the house.

“That’s him!” the woman told the officers. In bodycam footage released by the police, the woman can be seen pointing to Myeni as the officers approached him and shouted, “Get on the ground! Get on the ground now!”

Myeni shouted back either “Why? Why?” or “Who are you?” twice. The audio is muddled.

After a struggle, four shots are heard — and then a shout: “Police!”

Acting Deputy Chief Allan Nagata said three officers had responded to what they believed to be a burglary. All three officers were injured in the altercation and had to be hospitalized.

Officials with the Honolulu Police Department said they are still investigating and would not respond to questions.

Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney, Steven Alm, said his office has opened an investigation.

Myeni’s wife said she believed her husband might have mistaken the house he entered for a Hare Krishna temple next door, which may explain why he had removed his shoes. She has filed a wrongful-death suit against the police.